By Bill W. Cooper
The Union of Liberia Associations, a Norwegian based organization (ULAN) on June 8, 2020 donated over 20 25kg bags of rice in the tune of US$520,00 to the SOS Children’s Village in Matadi, and the Group of ’77 on Newport Street in Monrovia.
The donation of the rice is in line with the ULAN’s thematic capacities ranging from Relief, Agriculture, Health, Education and Small Business Loan Scheme, as well as buttressing government’s efforts amidst the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
Presenting the items, ULAN Country Director, Enoch Marbloe said that their decision to identify with the two organizations was triggered by the devastation of the global economy of the pandemic with Liberia being of no exception.
“It can be recalled that during the EBOLA crisis in Liberia, ULAN made similar donations with a forty-foot container filled with drugs, food, disinfectants, PPEs, and medical equipment to various hospitals, schools, and some communities around the country,” Mr. Marbloe recounted.
According to him, in addition to their service during crisis, ULAN has also offered scholarships to dozens of Liberian students at the University of Liberia between 2010-2018 academic school years, alluding, “Some of the beneficiaries of our organization’s scholarship program are currently working in government and other private companies upon graduation from the university.”
During the presentation also, one of the organization’s Norway-based member, Mrs. Ellen Payne Koroma used the occasion to urge the Liberian government to prioritize the members of the Group of ’77 – stating that they too belong and are part of the society, as well as the educational sector of the country.
Receiving the gestures in separate words, SOS Village Director, Nehmah Yahnay, and the Group of ’77 Program Director, Isaacfor P. Dennis lauded the ULAN for the items – stressing that it came at the time when needed the most owing to the fact that the virus had already derailed the country’s already fading economy.
Isaacfor P. Denis then used the occasion to call on other philanthropists, humanitarians and the government to emulate ULAN by reaching out to them during the time of the pandemic.
The Union of Liberian Association (ULAN) is non-governmental organization founded in 2006, and is fully registered in Norway and Liberia with its members drawn from across the length and breadth of the Royal Kingdom of Norway, as well as serving as an umbrella organization for several local Liberian organizations.
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